


Dangerous Friends

by bamf_librarian (librawrian)



Category: The Shape of Water (2017)
Genre: Espionage, F/M, Fix-It, Fluff, Fluff and Smut, M/F, Original Female Character - Freeform, Smut, with a side of meet cute
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-03-26
Updated: 2018-03-26
Packaged: 2019-04-08 16:25:58
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 6
Words: 8,081
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14109360
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/librawrian/pseuds/bamf_librarian
Summary: The life of a Russian illegal is a lonely one... for Dimitri Mosenkov the only bright spot in his existence is his occasional interaction with the charming custodian, Gloria Russo. But everything changes one night when Gloria witnesses more than she should. Gloria has a school girl crush on Dr. Robert Hoffstetler--but he's hiding a secret. This fic is a complete fix it for Robert/Dimitri's fate in the movie.





	1. Chapter 1

The life of an embedded Russian illegal was a lonely one. Robert (born Dimitri) went to work, blending in seamlessly with his American colleagues, never attracting undue attention to himself, and then he came home to his empty apartment. He only ever met with his KGB handlers once every six months if he was lucky. Most of his reports were delivered through dead drops: a hollow log on the outskirts of a state park, a rusty bathroom vent in a public restroom, and (remarkably) the underside of a mailbox across town. He had very little meaningful human contact. He was so starved for it that the brightest part of his day had become the few moments when his lab’s cleaning woman came to empty the trash in his office. 

 

Her name was Gloria. She was diminutive and soft spoken but she had a kind smile and she seemed to really *see* him when they spoke, unlike any of his so-called “colleagues.” Their exchanges were just polite nothings, really. But they were the only moments of connection that he felt with another person and so...she was important. He gathered that she enjoyed interacting with him as well. He was warm and respectful and treated her with dignity which was more than she ever got from other laboratory staff. He’d seen and heard the way some of them degraded “the help,” either by completely ignoring their existence or by speaking down to them. “Piss wipers...shit cleaners…”  This juvenile, elitist behavior helped to firm his resolve in the mission. In the  _ Rodina _ , the Motherland,  _ everyone’s _ effort was meaningful.

 

Her fingers rapt gently on the doorway to his office about halfway through the workday.

 

“Dr. Hoffstetler? May I come in?”

 

He looked up from the report on his desk. In truth his eyes were blurry with fatigue and he hadn’t been absorbing much from the document. 

 

He took off his glasses and rubbed the weariness out of his eyes before answering, “Yes, Gloria. Of course, come in.”

 

She smiled shyly and stepped inside, pulling a wheeled trash barrel behind her. He reached underneath his desk and removed the small receptacle, holding it out to her.

 

“Tired today?” she asked, handing him back the empty trash bin. 

 

Robert let out a long sigh, “I am...unfocused, it seems. And you?”

 

She laughed a little, something she did to cover her nerves. She was adorably nervous, unused to anyone showing an interest in her beyond her ability to blend into the background and clean up spills. 

 

“I am always tired. That is my secret,” she responded coyly. 

 

“Well,” he gestured to the chair in the corner across from his desk, “you’re always welcome to sit for a moment if you need to rest.”

 

Gloria’s face could not have turned redder if he’d suggested that she take off her clothes and allow him to ravish her. Her eyes darted here and there never meeting his. Finally she replied, “That’s very nice, doctor. But I’m sure my supervisor would *filet* me if she caught me sitting while I was meant to be working. Speaking of that…”

 

He smiled faintly, “You must be on your way. Have a good day.”

 

She smiled at him again, her cheeks dimpling and her eyes full of genuine regard, as she left pulling her bin behind her. 

 

_ Idiot _ , Robert berated himself. He must be truly desperate. 

 

***

 

He waited very late, hours after the last workers left the laboratory before entering the locked chamber to photograph the missile turbine, a new propulsion mechanism which was years beyond the Soviet equivalent. This would level the playing field. He strode underneath the behemoth weapon, cradling the miniaturized camera in his hands and snapping photos as quickly as possible. The lab was in shadow, quiet and still. He felt like a fox creeping toward the hen house in the dead of night. A sudden squeak startled him from his focus and his eyes sought out the source of the disturbance in the shadowy corners of the room. 

 

Light reflected in a gleam off the rim of a mop bucket and she appeared, timidly stepping out of the shadows, refusing to meet his gaze. Her suspicion, her certainty, her fright was obvious in the hunch of her shoulders and the tremor in her voice, “S-sorry to disturb you, Dr. Hoffstetler…”

 

_ Blyad _ . Damn.

 

Robert stood frozen, his hands clutching the damning camera (strictly forbidden within the lab), his mouth hanging stupidly agape. He watched in stunned silence as she gathered up her mop and started to rush past him toward the massive sealed exit. In a snap he came to life, striding forward and wrapping his hand around her upper arm. She turned to him, then, finally meeting his eyes and he felt a wave of shame when he saw the fear and betrayal there. But it was too late. He had to ensure the security of this operation. 

 

He loosened his grip, holding her arm gently but firmly and steered her into the back of the lab and the entrance to the utility tunnel. They strode down the tunnel, Gloria skipping to keep up with his pace, until they reached a point about midway between the lab and the loading dock. He spun on his heel, hands grasping both her shoulders and looked into her eyes with an intense stare.

“Gloria,” he spoke in his usual soft tone, “you enjoy working together, don’t you? You enjoy our chats?”

 

Though the words were gentle and innocuous enough, something in his word choice triggered her panic and Gloria gasped in a heaving breath before answering, “Yes...yes, I do…”

 

“Well…” he replied and smoothed his palms against her trembling shoulders in comfort. “If you were to tell anyone--anyone at all--about what you saw just now...you understand what would happen? It would be disastrous for me. I would have to leave. You don’t want that do you?”

 

She was looking at him now with a mix of confusion and suspicion. He could tell...he could feel that she wanted to trust him. But she wasn't stupid. Still, she shook her head no in answer to his question.

 

He sighed, wracking his brain for an explanation that would result in her keeping her mouth shut and him not having to...well, it was unthinkable. She had to go along with this.

 

“Gloria, listen carefully. What I am doing is against the rules, I won’t dispute that. But I’m not doing it to hurt anyone. I’m doing it to learn… and to share my knowledge with others. This laboratory...this country...wants to hoard their knowledge from the world. I just want to share it so that we are all equal.”

 

He could see his words taking hold as she absorbed them. This was something that would surely appeal to her: equality, fairness. This wasn’t about treason or deceit...it was about making the world better.

 

“But if you were to report what you’ve seen I could be arrested. So you see why it is so important that you never repeat it, right?” 

 

He held his breath awaiting her response. She looked up at him (he wasn’t a tall man, but she was a rather short lady), her eyes sheened over with unshed tears, but he saw the decision on her face. She nodded and finally spoke, “I won’t say anything, Dr. Hoffstetler. I promise.”

 

He smiled then and pulled her into a hug, wrapping his arms around her small frame and squeezing gently. 

 

“I knew you would understand, Gloria.”

 

The night, it seemed, was saved. But what the hell was he going to tell his handlers?


	2. Chapter 2

In the end he decided to relay only the bare minimum in a careful numeric code. The vaguely cryptic message appended to the film reel, simply read:

 

_ New asset recruited. Code name: WHISPER. Limited access, possible courier. _

 

In truth, he had a fairly good guess that Gloria’s access was fair given all of the private offices she was in and out of all day. But to dangle her as a possible source before his handlers was unacceptable. He wanted her as uninteresting to them as possible. Just a cleaning lady who might prove useful in transporting documents in her cart. Robert had no intention of using her in such a way. But he could not very well tell his handlers that he’d been caught out like a child with his hand in the cookie jar. They would be furious and would probably insist on killing her. No, this was the only option. Robert trusted Gloria implicitly. 

 

_ So why tell them at all? _

 

Why, indeed. No other explanation than his dedication, practically encoded in his Russian blood, to the Rodina and the cause. Besides, he rationalized, this way she’d have protection should things go sideways. 

 

***

One week later...

 

The laboratory was crawling with MPs when Gloria arrived to work the following week. She stepped out of the elevator and flinched backwards at the sight of them all lined up to check employee credentials. Luckily, her reaction was pretty standard-- the staff was visibly shaken and everyone was nervous. Gloria handed over her badge with shaky hands and waited as the uniformed officer inspected it. He handed it back to her along with a note card with a time and room number. She was to report to Conference Room B for a security interview in a few hours’ time. Until then she’d perform her duties as usual. 

 

The day was excruciating. She marched around with her cleaning cart feeling as if she were holding a quivering ball of hot nerves inside her belly. Anytime anyone addressed her she startled violently. When she finally began the round of offices she wasn’t sure if she was dreading or anticipating seeing Dr. Hoffstetler. 

 

In the week since *that night* things had been strange for her. The doctor acted the same as always: friendly, kind, obliging. But she was seeing him through different eyes. Each time he handed her the bin in his office she remembered those hands clenched around her shoulders. When his smile wrinkled his eyes she remembered the desperate intensity of his gaze. She just wished things could go back to how they were before. When she’d looked forward to seeing him with butterflies in her stomach; when she thrilled with a delicious blush at his kind attention. He was handsome and good and he didn’t sneer or look down on her. He couldn’t be...this other thing. A spy. A mole. A traitor. 

She’d wrestled with these thoughts all week and now, on top of all of it, she felt the heavy dread of being *interrogated.* What if they knew? What if it was all a show and they were going to arrest them both? With these thoughts churning in her mind she stepped into his doorway and knocked lightly as usual. 

 

***

 

Dr. Hoffstetler raised his head from his work, took one look at Gloria’s stricken face and beckoned her to come inside. The woman was obviously out of her mind with anxiety. Everyone on staff had been called for an interview. Robert himself had already completed his. Naturally they started with the most senior staff and were working their way down. He was confident that he’d completely fooled the Army Intelligence goons. 

 

Still, he was shaken by this flap. The drop point must have been tainted. They’d discovered the photos of the missile and the encoded message about WHISPER. Thank god they’d never break the code, they wouldn’t have time. The paper itself was engineered to dissolve after a week of exposure to the atmosphere. No, it was the film that really concerned him. He’d spent the last year developing the missile project--for nothing. Not enough to end his engagement...but still, Moscow would not be pleased. 

 

Gloria shuffled inside and held out a shaking hand to take his trash bin. Robert stood up, walked carefully around her and poked his head outside the office door, checking that the coast was clear before shutting the door. 

 

He turned back to her, eyes widened significantly and a finger over his lips in a shushing motion. He crossed to a shelf behind his desk and fiddled with the knob on a transistor radio, settling on a news program before turning around. He crossed back to her in two great strides and held her in his arms. She shook like a leaf and clung to the lapels of his white lab coat.

 

“Doctor Hoffstetler--” her breath brushed against his throat as she spoke and he felt, not for the first time, the swell of warm affection for this strange little creature.

 

He dipped his head so that his lips were close to her ear, “Call me….Robert.”

 

He hated the vulgar diminutive the Americans used, Bob. He didn’t want to hear it fall from Gloria’s lips. 

 

“Robert…” she sounded lost.

 

“Shhh,” he breathed into her ear, half comfort half practicality. He was worried about the possibility his office, all the offices, were bugged. “It’s going to be fine. Remember what we talked about?”

 

She looked up at him, fly away strands of dark brown hair framing her earnest face. “Yes,” she whispered. 

 

“Good girl,” he said with a tender smile and then cleared his throat before continuing at his normal volume, “Thank you, Gloria.”

 

He gestured to the trash bin and the door and she got the hint. He hated to dismiss her like this. But it wouldn’t do to appear to change their routines at this point.

 

“Have a good day, Doctor,” Gloria chirped in an approximation of her usual voice. She would do just fine. He was sure of it.

 

***

 

The interview was worse and better than what she expected. Worse because she couldn’t have imagined her own inner anxiety and terror as she sat there in the squeaky conference room chair and tried to seem *normal.* Whatever that meant. Better because it was short and perfunct. They asked if she’d seen anything out of place or unusual in the last few weeks. No, sir. Anyone who seemed to change their usual routine? No, sir.

 

Nothing unusual, sir. Nothing at all. It was over in ten minutes. 

 

She didn’t allow herself to let out a relieved breath until she was in the women’s locker room, wearily pulling on her flower print shirt dress and jumper. She couldn’t wait to get home and lay in bed. She felt bone tired. Maybe she’d call in sick tomorrow...but no, that would be unusual. She mustn’t do anything to endanger herself at this stage. Or Doctor Hoffstetler. She thought of him with a wistful sigh as she trudged back to the punch clock. It was always an impossible little crush. He was far above her social status. The girls in her department joked about hooking a scientist hubby--but it was only ever for fun. They all knew they weren’t the type to attract a man like that. Still...now that they shared this secret it *felt* like there was more between them. 

 

_ Just your imagination, girl _ , she told herself bitterly. 

 

***

 

He watched her board the bus, waiting a beat in the shadow behind the glassed shelter before sprinting at the last minute and getting on just before the doors squeaked shut. He dropped into the seat beside her and watched her face transform from surprised wonder at his appearance to a schooled--and transparent--calm. 

 

“Doctor...I mean, Robert. Hello,” she said. Her hands fidgeted in her lap, twisting the fabric of her dress. She glanced out the window as they started moving off from the curb and looked back at him, “Isn’t this out of your way?”

“No matter,” he replied breezily. “I wanted to see how you were…”

 

And find out how the interview went, of course. She caught his meaning and nodded reassuringly to him, “It was okay. Very short. I was in and out again in ten minutes. They don’t--”

 

He cut her off and looked around significantly. They were surrounded by people. She let out a frustrated sigh and dropped her gaze to her lap.

 

“Sorry,” she whispered sounding dejected.

 

Impulsively, he reached out a hand and held hers, gently squeezing her soft fingers in support, “It’s alright, Gloria. I’m sorry about all of this. You shouldn’t have to be involved. But...it means so much to me that you’ve done this…”

 

She looked up at him through her long lashes and her lips curved into a lovely smile. She could capture him in that look. Her deep brown eyes, her charming smile and earnest expression. He felt himself falling into her gaze and tightened his hold of her hand. He felt her fingers stir, gently stroking the sensitive skin of his palm. 

 

“I’m glad to help you, Robert. I…” she sucked in a breath as if for courage, “I like spending time with you…”

 

And there it was. He’d read her infatuation with him in her looks and blushes, her special smiles. And she offered it to him like a fragile baby bird in the palm of her hands: her affection. Could he take it? Knowing what probable pain it would cause her eventually--to love a spy?

 

It was the eyes that did it. He smiled back at her and dipped down to place a lingering kiss against her cheek--they were in public after all. Still, the brush of his soft lips on her cheek lit a candle inside her chest. She leaned into the kiss and sighed her appreciation. He would have to get off at the next stop, circle back to the lab to get his car. But for now, this kiss was everything.


	3. Chapter 3

The haphazard investigation by Army Intelligence had resulted in the discovery of a miniaturized spy camera on the person of an outside contractor. The man insisted the camera wasn’t his, but the evidence was damning enough for the investigators. With that matter closed Robert was free to breathe and quietly begin harvesting intelligence from lab reports once again. The camera was a risk he was unwilling to repeat.

 

One positive outcome of the flap: his handlers were still unaware of Gloria’s existence. And now that the nature of their...friendship had shifted he felt he could safely keep her to himself, so to speak. He was under regular KGB counter surveillance, so they would figure out that he was seeing someone socially. But he’d play it off as another layer of his cover. He was a man seeing a woman in whom he was interested. It was true, anyway, which made it all the better as cover.

 

In the days following the kiss on the bus they did not have much time to speak to each other outside of their regular midday chat. They had to be careful--not just because of his spy status, but because Gloria’s job hung in the balance. If her supervisor found out that she’d fraternized with a staff member she’d be dismissed without fanfare. 

 

So, they continued as they always had: gently flirting for a few minutes each day. Gloria’s blushes were more frequent and adorable than ever. Robert found himself picturing her face as he worked. Her dimpled cheeks and shy grin, her luminous brown eyes and the arch of her brows. The hair that was always a little messy by the time she reached his office. She was a pleasant distraction, a secret he held like a precious gemstone. The thoughts of her helped him to get through each day, to survive each dead drop (now more laborious than ever). 

 

At the end of the week he finally addressed her in his office, speaking quietly, “Gloria, I’d like to see you...perhaps this weekend?”

 

She licked her lips and failed to suppress a pleased grin, “Yes! That would be nice.”

 

Gloria could not believe it. She’d held a flame for Robert for months, his kindness and gentle manner winning her over long ago. And now...her secret fantasy was coming true.

 

She couldn’t have known that for Robert she had become just as special and important over the months of their acquaintance. They made arrangements and he was to pick her up from her apartment the following evening. Each walked through the rest of their work day holding the secret promise of the weekend like a balloon carrying them along and lightening their stride.

 

***

 

The plan was dinner and a movie. Gloria stood in front of her closet in her best brassiere and slip, hands on her hips, despairing at the shabby collection of old dresses. She hadn’t been asked out on a date in a few years at least. 

 

_ Would they kiss? Would he hold her hand as they walked to the theater? What if they ran out of things to say at dinner?  _

 

She shook her head trying to rid herself of these anxieties. It really was ridiculous, she thought with a sharp laugh. He was a spy! Embedded in a top secret laboratory, stealing secrets from the U.S. Government. And she was worried about whether he’d want to hold her hand…

 

She flipped through the collection of dresses, finally choosing a red knee length skirt and off white blouse with a matching red cardigan. She wanted to wear something completely different from the drab greenish uniform he always saw. It might not be the latest fashion but she thought the skirt showed her to advantage and the color was certainly eye catching. 

 

She watched from her window as his car rolled to a stop outside her apartment building. She skipped down the stairs and met him at the door before he’d had a chance to ring the bell. Gloria beamed at his gentlemanly manner as he held the car door open for her. She slid inside and ran her fingers along the soft leather of the passenger seat. The vehicle was certainly a status symbol. No one that Gloria knew owned one, living inside the city it wasn’t necessary. Her rational mind reminded her that it was probably a tool of his trade--he needed it to travel to clandestine meetings and what not. 

 

She looked over and locked eyes with him as he turned the key in the ignition, forgetting all thoughts of secret meetings and spycraft. She watched as his eyes slid down her form and felt her cheeks heat up at his obvious perusal of her figure.

 

“You look lovely, Gloria,” he spoke with his soft smile. 

 

“Thanks,” she breathed. “So do you. Handsome, I mean. You look nice…”

 

_ Idiot _ .

 

***

 

He took her to what she’d call a “medium scale” restaurant a block away from the theater. Nothing too overwhelming, but she felt special sitting at the small table and being the object of his attention. She had worried that they wouldn’t have anything to say to each other outside the context of work and, well, espionage. But the conversation flowed naturally. He asked her about her family and her childhood. She found herself opening up and talking more than she ever had. She told him about her big Italian family, the struggle of growing up with four older brothers. He laughed at mortifying tales of dates being interrogated by her bruiser brothers.

 

“It was like having four dads, really,” she explained. Her father having died before she was born.

 

“They must have been a handful for your mother,” he commented, cutting into his steak.

 

“Yes, but she was remarkable. She kept up with all five of us and made sure we turned out alright.”

 

She asked about his family with an almost apologetic tone, expecting that he could not tell her very much.

 

He glanced around, but they were out of earshot from the nearest diners. His voice came out low and gruff, “I was born in Minsk...Russia. My father named me after a famous Russian scientist. They’re...both gone now.”

 

Gloria schooled her face not to show surprise at his admission. A *Russian* spy? If she’d considered his origins she never dreamed he could come from...the *enemy.* Still, she heard the grief in his voice and reached out to hold his hand on the table.

 

“You’re a good man, Robert,” she said, not realizing how the use of his false identity stabbed at him just a little. “Your parents would be proud of you.”

 

***

 

He held her hand as they walked the short distance to the theater. She thrilled at the warm, firm grip of his fingers wrapped around hers. The streets were dark and it had rained a little during their meal. A chill crept into the air, but Gloria felt safe by his side, hand in hand. Until she looked up to find his eyes dancing back and forth, scanning the street in front of them and behind. He was alert and his grip tightened around her hand.

 

She felt a tremor of fear, “Is it alright, Robert?”

 

He seemed to come back to himself and smiled down at her reassuringly, “Perfectly fine.”

 

In truth, he had detected the counter surveillance men who sporadically tailed him. They’d be reporting the young woman to his handlers this very evening. He had known it would happen, and was prepared to explain it...but still, he worried.

 

***

 

The film was a sci-fi monster flick that had Gloria jumping in fear and delight, shielding her gaze and hiding in the crook of his neck. He allowed himself to enjoy this moment, a man out with his girl, one arm wrapped around her in the velvet seats of the dark theater. He could smell the floral scent of her perfume as she leaned her head on his shoulder. She filled his senses and he was completely under her spell. 

 

At one scene she looked up to watch his reaction. He leaned forward then and captured her soft lips against his own. The kiss was languid and teasing. They were both shy and careful with eachother. Gloria found herself fisting her hand in the front of his shirt to keep hold of him as she brushed her tongue along his lower lip. The kiss filled her up and he became the entire world. She smelled the musky scent of his after shave and tasted the sweet tang of the wine from dinner on his tongue. It was all so much, her senses were overloaded. She let out the tiniest whimper and nearly died of embarrassment when a matron several rows in front of them turned and shushed her loudly.

 

They broke apart and stared at each other, hysterical laughter in their eyes and threatening to bubble up in their throats. Gloria snorted trying to hold in the hilarity and it was enough to set Robert off entirely. He let out a bark of laughter and they both dissolved into giggles, not caring that the cranky old woman had resumed shushing them.


	4. Chapter 4

Gloria and Robert went out twice more over the following weeks. On their second date he’d arrived carrying a bouquet of vivid flowers for her. Her heart was so light she felt like a schoolgirl. Memories of the investigation and deception faded from her mind. She was simply a woman falling in love with a remarkable man. 

 

He invited her to his apartment to cook dinner for her, she’d learned that he enjoyed cooking. 

 

“It’s chemistry,” he joked. “Add a little of this and that and you get liquid nitrogen. The same methods can be used to make a bundt cake.”

 

She laughed at that. His humor was understated and he was often quite serious, but she thought he was perfect just as he was. He’d settled her at his small kitchen table with a glass of wine and resisted all of her attempts to assist him with the meal. He wanted to make it especially for her.

 

“This is amazing, Robert!” she exclaimed over her first taste. He’d prepared an assortment of dishes for her to try: a cucumber salad,  _ pelmeni _ \-- dumplings stuffed with minced meat, poached chicken, and...a bundt cake for dessert, of course.

 

Once the meal was finished they shifted into Robert’s tiny living room. Sparsely decorated  and furnished with just a love seat and an overstuffed chair. They sat together in the love seat, finishing their wine and enjoying one another. Gloria leaned into his side, tucking herself against him. She loved the comforting weight of him beside her, the smell of his soap and aftershave. She slipped off her heels and tucked her stockinged feet beneath her, turning her face up to his in invitation. 

 

This kiss was immediately more intimate and passionate than those that had come before. Here there was no danger of interruption. They were finally alone together in his demesne. The thought sent a thrill down her spine and she arched upward, shimmying onto his lap and cupping his cheeks with her hands as she deepened the kiss. His strong hands settled on the swell of her hips, kneading little circles and gradually hitching up the fabric of her skirt. She could feel the heat of his growing erection against her bottom and shuddered with an aching need. 

 

She broke away from the kiss for a second to speak with swollen lips, “Robert…”

 

He interrupted her urgently with a kiss.

 

“Please,” he whispered against her lips, “call me Dimitri--only when we’re alone but--I need you to call me by my true name.”

 

A tear swelled up and rolled down her cheek. She was touched by his trust in her and at the same time her heart ached for this man who lived a lie.

 

“Dimitri,” she spoke, placing soft kisses over his nose, his forehead, his cheeks, “Dimitri, I love you.”

 

He took her to bed then, hauling her up into his arms and carrying her into the bedroom. He laid her out on the mattress and snaked his hands up her legs, dragging his palm over the nylon stockings as he tugged them off. She shivered at the touch of his fingers trailing up her inner thighs and just grazing over the silken fabric of her panties. She let out a needy moan and grabbed for his tie, yanking it loose and starting on the buttons of his shirt while he pulled down her skirt. They were frantic and clumsy, desperate for bare skin. Finally his pants and shirt were abandoned and she was down to just her brassiere and panties.

 

“Dimitri...Dimitri...Dimitri…” she chanted his true name like a prayer while his lips blazed hot trails over her skin. He mouthed her nipples through the cloth of the bra, lathing them with his wet tongue while he struggled with the clasp--finally giving up and simply pushing the fabric aside to claim her breasts with kisses and gentle nips that sent her eyes into the back of her head and elicited the most embarrassing sounds. She felt his hands stroking a path toward the apex of her thighs, stroking her through the wet fabric of her undies before finally pulling them down and plunging his fingers into her wet curls to trace her lips and play with her. Gloria moaned in appreciation, bucking her hips upward and reaching out to trace the outline of his erection through his shorts.

 

“Yes,” he panted, grinding against her palm even as he continued to work her clit with his fingers. Her breath was hitching and she was nearly *there* when he removed his fingers. She let out a pitiful keen at the loss of contact. Dimitri hurriedly divested himself of the shorts, finally freeing his cock and aligning himself between her legs. 

 

“Moya lyubov…” he panted into her neck as he pushed inside her.  _ My love _ .

 

Their lovemaking was frantic with need. Dimitri was finally letting go of every moment of loneliness and desperation. He clung to this woman who, against all odds, somehow loved him, even knowing what he was. Gloria gave herself to him with complete trust. The headiness of giving herself over to someone like this was enough to push her over the edge all by itself. She bit her teeth into the crook of his neck to stifle a cry as she reached her climax. Dimitri gasped, feeling her walls spasming around him and milking him until he tumbled over the edge after her. They held onto each other for dear life as the aftershocks wracked through their bodies. Dimitri finally collapsed beside her on the bed and pulled her into a tight embrace.

 

They lay there like that, sweat sheened and catching their breath, for an eternity. Gloria turned her face into his side and placed gentle little kisses against his skin. She gloried in the rise and fall of his breath and the thumping feel of his beating heart. After several minutes she felt him take a breath to speak and looked up at him.

 

“I love you too,  _ dushka _ .”


	5. Chapter 5

Gloria woke gradually the next morning, grinning madly at the weight of Robert--Dimitri’s arm around her waist. He held her snug against his body and she could feel the warmth of his breath along the back of her neck. She breathed in, enjoying the feeling of being wrapped in his scent. As her chest expanded she felt the brush of his fingers along the curve of her breast and shuddered involuntarily. 

 

“Mmm?” he mumbled, burrowing even closer and tightening his arms around her. His arousal stirred against her thigh and she shifted her bottom deviously, rubbing against him and eliciting a more definitive moan. 

 

They took their time this morning with none of the frenzied desperation of last night. They were both still half asleep and their bodies moved together naturally as if they were made for this. He moved slowly inside her, arms cradling her form against his and lips brushing along her neck in benediction. With hitched breath and soft cries they came at almost the same moment. Gloria’s thighs shook with the effort and she felt raw and vulnerable. Dimitri’s breathing was ragged but she saw his eyes sharpen at a sound from the living room. It was nothing, the floor settling, but he was on alert.

 

He pulled the quilt up and tucked it around her chin, “Stay here, please.”

 

He pulled on a t-shirt and slacks and closed the bedroom door tightly behind him. Gloria laid there holding her breath and straining her ears. She felt ice water engulf her heart at the sound of muffled voices from the living room.

 

***

 

The two brazen KGB handlers sat properly around the kitchen table as if waiting to be served in a restaurant. Dimitri emerged from the bedroom, dour-faced, perfectly aware that they’d been sitting here listening to him make love to Gloria. He could play their charade, though. He moved to the stove and started to make coffee.

 

“Comrade,” the grey-haired agent spoke. They knew his name but he did not know theirs. Grey-hair he referred to as Boris; ginger he referred to as Viktor. “Congratulations from Moscow station on your most recent report. Your efforts have materially improved the outlook for Russia’s space program.”

 

“I am glad,” Dimitri murmured, setting down mugs of steaming coffee and taking a seat himself. “This is unexpected and dangerous. Why didn’t you signal that you wanted a face-to-face?”

 

Dimitri felt a bead of sweat trickle through the hairs on the back of his neck. If they came here knowing that Gloria was in the apartment...then they knew or *assumed* that he’d brought her into the fold. The danger for her was significant. These men would stop at nothing to ensure mission security.

 

“We wanted to meet your new friend. The one who cries out your Russian name in the night for anyone to hear.”

 

Dimitri’s eyes swiveled from Boris’s face to scan the apartment. He’d have to sweep the whole place for bugs. 

 

“Luckily,” Boris grunted, his voice heavy with arrogance, “it was just your friends listening last night. Next time maybe not so lucky.”

 

Dimitri schooled his features into a calm mask and responded, “We’ve been exceedingly discreet. I have recruited her successfully and she’s sympathetic to our cause. The relationship will serve as a useful layer to my operative legend. A single man with a steady girlfriend is less suspicious than a loner.”

 

He watched their eyes narrow with suspicion. 

 

“Bring her out here, please,” Boris demanded. 

 

Dimitri squared his shoulders, “That’s really unnecessary. She’s completely unaware--”

 

“Yes,” Boris interrupted, “she *is* completely unaware of protocol, of security and of the consequences of another major flap like the film reel. Bring. Here. Out. Here. Please.”

 

Dimitri stared the man down for a long moment before rising from his seat and walking back to the bedroom.

 

Gloria had dressed and was sitting on the edge of the bed bouncing her foot nervously and wringing her hands in the lap of her slightly wrinkled skirt. 

 

“ _ Dushka _ ,” Dimitri said, kneeling in front of her and taking her shaking hands in his. He looked up into her eyes and saw fear. “There are some men here to meet with me...from my service. They’d like to meet you as well.”

 

“They’re...Russians?” she whispered the words with a tone of scandal as if she hadn’t just slept with a Russian.

 

He smiled and teased, “We’re not boogeymen, you know.”

 

She laughed at herself then and the mood was slightly lighter, “I know *you’re* not…”

 

Dimitri sighed, “We have to be careful with them, but it will be fine. I’ll be with you the whole time, okay?”

 

As they walked out of the bedroom Gloria wished she hadn’t discarded her shoes in the living room the night before. She felt ridiculous and vulnerable walking in her stocking feet toward these black-suited men with wolf eyes.

 

Dimitri pulled out a chair for her and handed her a cup of coffee which she held in her hands, grateful for the comforting heat. She took a shaky breath, locking eyes with Dimitri once for strength, and turned toward the two men. They leered at her and her cheeks flamed with the knowledge that they’d been sitting out here while she and Dimitri had...

 

“Miss Russo,” Boris began. “A pleasure to meet you. You can call me Boris and my colleague’s name is Viktor.”

 

“A pleasure,” she responded woodenly.  She was treating this like the interview with Army Intelligence, giving away as little as possible.

 

“Can you describe the nature of your relationship with...Bob?”

 

She took a deep breath, choosing to be brave, “I gather you’ve been sitting here for some time. I think you have a fairly good idea of the nature of our relationship.”

 

Dimitri suppressed a smirk at her snarky response but hurriedly added, “Gloria provided important assistance to me during the investigation following the tainted drop site. She helped me plant the camera on the unfortunate fellow who took the blame...”

 

Gloria flashed him a confused look but closed off her features again at a shake of his head. This lie would explain how he’d brought her into the fold without exposing his own carelessness.

“Since then we’ve begun a romantic relationship which only serves to deepen my cover and improve the security of the mission, not undermine it.”

 

He glanced between Boris and Viktor, holding each of their gazes steadily while avoiding Gloria’s. He saw something flash across her face at his words, but this was too important for him to lose focus. He was willing them to agree with him.

 

Viktor finally spoke up, “You may be right. It’s not normal for a man to live his life skulking to and from work and never enjoying himself. This could work, Boris…”

 

Boris still looked skeptical. He turned back to Gloria and spoke with a touch of venom, “And you? Do you know what happens if your American morals prick at you and you decide to report this to your government? I will tell you: you won’t be interviewed. You won’t be arrested. They will find you floating in the river--”

 

Gloria gasped and Dimitri slammed his fist down onto the table, “That’s enough! Gloria is loyal and dedicated and there is no cause to speak to her in that way.”

 

The two men stood up. Boris spoke placatingly, “Forgive me, brother. I haven’t known Gloria for as long as you have--I’m sure we’ll feel better once we know her *better.*”

 

A not so subtle hint that surveillance would now be watching her as well. Dimitri stood and walked the men out without further discussion. What sort of way was that to handle an important asset? These two buffoons were washed up and he bristled at being made accountable to *them.* He was the one making strides, he was the one gathering intelligence that would turn the tide of the space race. And they thought that threatening his lover would somehow aid in that mission? He was fuming when he reentered the kitchen, but he tried to tamp it down for Gloria’s sake.

 

He needn’t have worried--she was just as angry.

 

“How can they speak like that? Shouldn’t they be supporting you? Helping you?”

 

Dimitri moved forward and took her into his arms with a soft huff of ironic laughter, “One would hope.”

 

She stewed for some time, emitting little affronted noises. He just held her, rubbing his hands in slow circles over her back. After a while she cooled off and a shiver of fear replaced her anger, “What Boris said...about the river…”

 

“No,” Dimitri cut her off. “Don’t think of it. I would never let anything happen to you.”


	6. Chapter 6

Back at work Gloria went through the motions of her daily tasks with a distracted heart. Mop floors, clean windows, empty trash, collect laundry. And all the while scenes from her meeting with the KGB handlers flashed through her mind. She dwelled on Boris’s ice chip eyes, his cruel words. She recalled the quiet menace of Viktor’s burly mass and the threat which ran in an undercurrent throughout the entire exchange.

 

And, inevitably, she recalled Dimitri’s words… _“a romantic relationship which serves to deepen my cover…”_

 

Was that all they were? In her heart she knew. When she remembered the way his hands caressed her skin with something close to reverence and the look in his eyes as he made love to her, then she knew that it was something more. But her brain wouldn’t allow her to stop cycling through the words. She finally brought it up to him one evening after work.

 

They stood together in his tiny kitchen. Gloria kept her eyes carefully focused on the pot of stew she stirred and waited for his response. She could see him watching her from the corner of her eye, but refused to look up.

 

“Gloria…” he spoke with an anguished tone. “Please look at me.”

 

She put down the wooden spoon and finally turned to face him. His brows were turned up in concern and his glasses were beginning to fog over from the steam of the stew. She couldn’t help a small grin at his appearance.

 

He laughed and wrapped his arms around her, burying his face into the crook of her neck.

 

“Do you know how important you are to me? Before I met you...before we started seeing each other...I had nothing to hold on to. All I had was my work...my mission. I would come home at the end of the night and sit in silence. You have changed…*everything.* I never want you to feel like you’re not important and special to me.”

 

His words were so adorably heartfelt and earnest Gloria felt tears in her eyes. She sniffed a little and then spoke lightly, “Well...that’s all I needed to hear.”

 

Dimitri chuckled and dipped down to press his lips against hers. He clung to her like a life preserver and felt, not for the first time, the urgent need to hold on to and to protect this woman.

 

***

 

After the stress and danger that accompanied the start of their relationship, things settled down and Gloria could almost forget that she was dating a man committing espionage for the Main Enemy. Almost--because the nights of desperate tenderness and aching need always served to underscore Dimitri’s fear of the loneliness and his commitment to keeping them safe. He was taking fewer risks, reporting on the low hanging fruit. It wasn’t just his own life in the balance now. Gloria was implicated in everything that he did. The Center valued his access enough to go along with it--even replacing his menacing handlers with a matronly older woman who fawned over Gloria when they met. She won both their trust by never asking Dimitri to include Gloria in his work for the _Rodina_.

 

Months passed, the investigation became a memory, and they built a happy life with each other. Gloria’s co-workers were beginning to whisper, but for now it was fine. Concerns about capture and consequences melted away into more everyday worries. Dimitri was uncharacteristically shy and nervous when Gloria invited him to accompany her to Thanksgiving dinner with her brother Tony’s family.

 

“What’s wrong?” Gloria asked when she saw the reticence on his face. “I’ve told him about you, of course. He’s very impressed that his little sis is dating a rocket scientist.”

 

“Mmm, I see,” Dimitri responded with a crack in his voice.

 

Gloria squinted her eyes at him and drew up on her haunches to study his expression. They were in bed. She now spent most weekends with him at his apartment. Her own landlord was downright scandalized, but Dimitri’s (naturally) was discreet.

 

“Are you....are you scared? Are you scared to meet my family?”

 

Dimitri sank into the covers and pulled a pillow across his face to hide, causing Gloria to descend into a riotous fit of giggles.

 

“The great Dimitri Mosenkov? Hero of the _Rodina_ and brilliant scientist? He’s afraid to meet my monkey headed brother?” Gloria laid it on thick.

 

Dimitri emerged from the pillows and cleared his throat. He looked at her apologetically, “To them I can only ever be Robert Hoffstetler.”

 

Gloria sighed and stroked a hand over his smooth cheek, “That’s okay. I like him too.”

 

***

 

The visit was a success (“Of course it was!” Gloria gloated afterwards). Dimitri half expected a reenactment of the interrogations and interviews faced by Gloria’s teenaged dates, but Tony and his wife, Marla, welcomed him graciously.

 

“Thank GOD!” Tony exclaimed to his sister’s eternal mortification, “I was worrying Glory was going the way of the old maid.”

 

“Thanks, Tony, you’ve always been a loving brother,” she spoke with false bitterness.

 

The easy ribbing and domestic comfort put Dimitri at ease and filled an empty place in his chest. _Family_. It had been so long since he’d been a part of one.

 

Tony pulled him aside just before they were leaving to make the trip back into the city. With a hand on his shoulder he spoke close to his ear and assured Dimitri (Robert) that he thought he was a good man for his sister and he hoped he’d make things *official* soon enough.

 

Now *that* was something to think on.

 

The drive back into the city was quiet. They were both stuffed with turkey and lasagna and were content to just cruise along the moonlit highway in silence. Gloria reached over and took his hand in hers, stroking her fingers along the ridges of his knuckles. He glanced sideways to watch her profile, limned by the silver light of the moon following their little car. And he felt...normal. He felt like a man driving his girl home after meeting her family. Like a man in love. Like a man who wanted to ask that girl if she’d allow him to spend the rest of his life feeling that way.

 

Could he do that? Could he really ask her to commit to *him,* the broken spy who could never reveal his true identity to any of her loved ones? Who more than likely would be recalled to Russia one day? Would she follow him then? Give up her comfortable American life to stand by his side? Could he truly ask her to do it?

 

He twined his fingers in hers and took a deep breath.

 

End.


End file.
